We were used to losing in Boston, and we don’t want to bring it here. We’re not going to bring it here. We’re not coming here to lose, and we’re really excited about the opportunity. I’m happy to be here.

I don’t know why Minnesota would release Ryan Gomes, but there’s a rumor floating around some blog circles that his time is limited in Minnesota. Since Gomes obviously has some trade valule, an outright release is leading me to speculate about some type of wink-wink deal between Danny Ainge and Kevin McHale. I doubt it will happen but felt the need to pass it along.

Some inside the Wolves were even upset with Garnett for not warming to the Celtics before the draft. If he had, they would have gotten the fifth overall pick in the deal, meaning they would have had Jeff Green to add to their young mix, and the Wolves personnel people liked Green (and the guy they did get, Corey Brewer) very much.

What’s left on the Celtics’ roster is by far the worst collection of proven talent in the NBA. Not one of the remaining 29 teams in Stern’s world would even consider trading its fourth through 12th players for Boston’s.

But wait, there’s more.

Please, somebody, calm down, take off the green-and-white underwear and take a good look at the rest of the roster. It consists of Kendrick Perkins, Tony Allen, Brian Scalabrine, Rondo, Leon Powe, Eddie House, Jackie Manuel, and rookies Glen “Big Baby” Davis, Gabe Pruitt, and Brandon Wallace. Over on the side there is free agent Michael Olowokandi.

Regular readers know I’m no fan of the officials in the NBA. The same play is a foul on one guy… and not a foul on the next. They make ridiculous notions like “he’s a star, he should get that call”… and “they’re the road team, why are they shooting more free throws than us” possible. But now we’ve got an explanation as to why at least one of them sucks. He was fixing games for the mafia.

The investigation, which began more than a year ago, is zeroing in on blockbuster allegations that the referee was making calls that affected the point spread to guarantee that he – and the hoods who had their hooks in him – cashed in on large bets.

Federal agents are set to arrest the referee and a cadre of mobsters and their associates who lined their pockets, sources said.

How many games did the ref fix? “Double digits” says one Post source. You know what’s just so perfect about this story? The fact that the refereeing is so bad in the NBA, that no one even suspected that a ref would be fixing games. The refs calls are so haphazzard and random… that one guy’s calls were just dismissed as the same old crappy refereeing.

Hey David Stern… you know… if you made sure your refs made uniform calls in the NBA and didn’t give players “star treatment” or “home court advantage”… this guy would have stuck out like a sore thumb and could have been suspended or investigated earlier. Instead, a mafia pawn was allowed to operate seamlessly with the rest of the refs because they all makes calls so crappy that it looks like they’ve got a personal stake in things. It’s Faaaan-tastic!

We here at Redsarmy are doing our part to celebrate what a glorious country we live in. While John is ironing his Stars-and-Stripes speedo, I’m here to pay tribute to great Americans like Hulk Hogan, the 1992 Olympic Dream Team, the 1980 U.S. hockey team, Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, Joey Chestnut, Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton.